State-by-State* Review of On-Farm Poultry Processing Laws
- Adopted 1,000- & 20,000-bird exemption
- Adopted only 20,000-bird exemption
- Adopted only 1,000-bird exemption
- Modified exemption
- Adopted neither federal exemption
* Specific requirements for on-farm poultry processing may vary by state.
Copyright © 2017 Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, farmtoconsumer.org. The map is the property of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. This map may not be reproduced or altered without the express, written permission of FTCLDF, and if permission is granted all reproductions must cite FTCLDF as the source of the original material. This map is not intended to be used as or construed as legal advice.
States have the option of adopting the 1,000-bird exemption, the 20,000-bird exemption, both, or neither.
Read “Introduction to the On-Farm Poultry Processing Map” for the criteria to qualify for the Producer/Grower exemptions.
Producers under the 1,000-bird exemption slaughter and process on their own premises no more than 1,000 birds of their own raising in a calendar year for distribution as human food. Producers under the 20,000-bird exemption slaughter and process on their own premises no more than 20,000 birds of their own raising in a calendar year for distribution as human food.
RESOURCES
USDA-FSIS. Guidance for Determining Whether a Poultry Slaughter or Processing Operation is Exempt from Inspection Requirements of the Poultry Products Inspection Act. Revision 1, April 2006. Retrieved 7/31/2014 online from http://sustainagga.caes.uga.edu/documents/USDAPoultry_Slaughter_Exemption_0406.pdf Click here to view document
Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN). Guide to State Poultry Processing Regulations. Version October 2015. Retrieved online from http://articles.extension.org/sites/default/files/NMPAN_State_Poultry_Regs_October_2015.pdf Click here to view document
BY STATE – LEGALITY OF ON-FARM POULTRY SALES/DISTRIBUTION
The On-Farm Poultry Processing Chart has three categories: one noting whether the state allows open-air poultry processing, another listing the venues a producer processing poultry on the farm can sell to, and a third category detailing state licensing requirements for on-farm poultry processing.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have stated that open-air poultry slaughtering and processing can be in compliance with the law1, so unless a state agency official specifically said otherwise during the compiling of information for this chart, states that have adopted federal guidelines for USDA facility requirements are regarded as allowing open-air poultry processing.
The federal regulation governing on-farm poultry processing allows those under the producer/grower 1,000 and 20,000 bird exemption to sell in intrastate commerce to hotels, restaurants, and institutions (known as HRI) and also to retail stores in addition to direct-to-consumer sales. Institutions, according to USDA, includes schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.2
| State | Level of Federal Exemption | Facility Requirements | Sales Venues | Licensing Requirements* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | State has adopted federal guidelines, but check with local health director for additional restrictions. | No license required, but county has authority to require. |
| Alaska | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Can sell on farm to consumers or to HRI or retail stores as long as it is a state or municipal permitted facility. | No license required. |
| Arizona | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines, but state interprets that to mean no open air. | Federal guidelines. | No license required. |
| Arkansas | Has not adopted either exemption. | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| California | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 and slaughtered by family only – Open air allowed. 1,000 and slaughtered by employees – No open air. 20,000 – No open air. | 1,000 and slaughtered by family only – Can sell on farm, at farmers market, at roadside stands, or any other venue under the control of the producer. 1,000 and slaughtered by employees – Can only sell on the farm to consumers. 20,000 – Can sell direct to consumers, HRI, retail stores, and distributors. | 1,000 – County may require a permit, but no state permit required. 20,000 – Must register with California Department of Food and Agriculture. |
| Colorado | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – Open air allowed. 20,000 – No open air. | Restricted to consumer sales only. Can sell on the farm, at farmers markets, farm stands, and through delivery. | 1,000 – No license required if sales are direct-to-consumer only. 20,000 – License required. |
| Connecticut | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | State has adopted federal guidelines, but check with local health director for additional restrictions. | No permit required if selling direct-to-consumers, only on the farm or at farmers markets. Must have permit if selling to HRI. |
| Delaware | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines, but state interprets that to mean no open air. | Federal guidelines. | License required; $25 annual fee. |
| Florida | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines, but state interprets that to mean no open air. | Can sell to consumers, restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses, and at farmers markets/roadside stands. Cannot sell wholesale. | Permit required. |
| Georgia | 1,000 | No open air. | Can sell to consumers only, but not limited to on-farm sales. | Producer must register with Department of Agriculture. |
| Hawaii | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | No license required. |
| Idaho | 1,000 & 20,000 | No open air. | Federal guidelines. Customer must be informed that the poultry is exempt from inspection. | License required. |
| Illinois | 5,000 | No open air. | On-farm sales to consumers only. | No permit required but need to inform IL Meat and Poultry Inspection Service in writing when operating under the exemption. |
| Indiana | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Producers can sell on farm, at farmers markets, and at farm stands. Producers meeting additional requirements such as HACCP can sell to HRI and retail stores, as well. | Limited Household Consumer Permit for producer of 1,000 or more birds that only sells direct-to-consumer on the farm, at roadside stands, or at farmers markets. If selling also to HRI and/or retail stores, must obtain a Limited Permit – Retail Stores, Hotels, Restaurants, Institutions, even if under the 1,000-bird exemption. |
| Iowa | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Can sell to consumers. 20,000 – Can sell to consumers, farmers markets, HRI, distributors, and retail stores. | 1,000 – No permit required but could need additional licenses depending on the venue (i.e. farmers market license, mobile food unit license, retail food establishment license, and warehouse license). 20,000 – License required plus additional licenses depending on venue, as described above. |
| Kansas | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Must be sold from the farm with no restrictions on who can buy. 20,000 – Can sell for resale as meat or meals including to distributors, retail stores, and HRI. | 1,000 – No license required. 20,000 – Producer must register with the Department of Agriculture. |
| Kentucky | Has not adopted either exemption; processing is allowed through Kentucky state mobile processing unit. | N/A | N/A | See info below this chart. |
| Louisiana | 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | Producer must obtain permit through Department of Agriculture’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Program. |
| Maine | 1,000 & 20,000 | Can slaughter/defeather outside but also need a “building with easily cleanable floors, walls and ceilings” for processing. | 1,000 – Can sell to consumers on the farm, at farmers markets, and via CSA. No wholesale, HRI, or internet sales. 20,000 – Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Registration required. 20,000 – License required. |
| Maryland | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Can sell only to consumers on the farm unless producers complete Maryland Department of Agriculure’s voluntary training program, in which case they can sell to HRI and retail stores. | No permit required if only selling direct-to-consumers on the farm. If selling direct-to-consumers away from the farm or HRI, producer must obtain a permit. See more info below this chart. |
| Massachusetts | 1,000 & 20,000 | Open air allowed. | Federal guidelines. | License required. |
| Michigan | 1,000 & 20,000 | Have adopted CGMP and the FDA food code for retailers. Since both reference physical facility requirements, state says no open air. | Federal guidelines. | Producer must obtain either a retail food establishment license or a warehouse license. |
| Minnesota | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – Federal guidelines, but unsure if state interprets those to mean open air or not. 20,000 – Federal guidelines. | Can sell to consumers on farm or at farmers markets. Cannot be sold wholesale. | 1,000 – No permit required. 20,000 – Permit required. |
| Mississippi | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – No facility requirements; open air allowed. 20,000 – No open air. | Can sell on farm to consumers. Mississippi Health Department regulation states no exempt birds can be sold in restaurants. | 1,000 – Registration required; can do online at no cost. 20,000 – State license required; $10 annual fee. |
| Missouri | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | Producer must register with the Department of Agriculture. |
| Montana | 1,000 & 20,000 | Less than 1,000 birds can be sold under cottage food law. State otherwise adopts USDA 20,000 bird exemption. | Federal guidelines. | License required. |
| Nebraska | 1,000 & 20,000 | State has own guidelines which may differ from USDA guidelines (Pure Food Act). State allows slaughtering and defeathering to take place outside the facility if processing happens inside. | Can sell to consumers on the farm, at farmers markets, at farm stands, at any other venue under the control of the producer, and also to restaurants. | Permit required. |
| Nevada | 1,000 & 20,000 | No open air. | Can sell to consumers on the farm, at farmers markets, at farm stands, at any other venue under the control of the producer, and also to restaurants. | Producer must obtain permit from the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Division. |
| New Hampshire | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Can sell to consumers and HRI but not to retail stores. | No license required. |
| New Jersey | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | No permit required. Local health departments may require a permit. See below this chart for more information. |
| New Mexico | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | No permit required. |
| New York | 1,000 & 20,000 | No open air. | 1,000 – Direct sales to consumers on the farm, at farm stands, or at farmers markets. No retail stores or HRI. 20,000 – All of the above plus retail stores, HRI, and distributors. | 1,000 – No license required. 20,000 – Requires 5A New York State Poultry and Slaughterhouse license. |
| North Carolina | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines, and expressly state that open air allowed. | Federal guidelines. | Registration required. |
| North Dakota | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – Open air allowed. 20,000 – No open air. | 1,000 – Can sell only on farm to consumers. 20,000 – Direct sales to consumers only, on the farm and through delivery. No farmers markets, roadside stands, or any other venue. | Producer must register with the Department of Agriculture. |
| Ohio | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – Open air allowed. 20,000 – No open air. | 1,000 – Can sell to consumers as well as to hotels, restaurants and institutions. 20,000 – No restrictions on who can buy or where sale can take place. | 1,000 – No license required. 20,000 – License required. |
| Oklahoma | 1,000 | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Can sell only on farm to consumers. | License required; no fee |
| Oregon | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Direct-to-consumer only on farm, at farmers markets, at farm stands, and through delivery. 20,000 – Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – No license required. 20,000 – License required. |
| Pennsylvania | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – License required. 20,000 – No license required since directly under United States Department of Agriculture jurisdiction. |
| Rhode Island | 1,000 & 20,000 | Open air allowed if the facility meets the CGMP requirements. | Federal guidelines. | License required. |
| South Carolina | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | Producer must be registered as a meat and poultry handler. |
| South Dakota | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | No license required. |
| Tennessee | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines, but does have additional labeling requirements. | No permit required. |
| Texas | 1,000 & 10,000 (state law) | State adopts 1,000 bird exemption, for which there is no registration requirement. State allows between 1,000-10,000 birds to be processed by registered facility. Open air not allowed. | Can sell to consumers, restaurants, and other retail establishments. | Permit required. |
| Utah | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Can sell to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and wholesale. | License required. |
| Vermont | 1,000 | Federal guidelines. | Can sell to consumers on farm and at farmers markets and to restaurants. | No license required. |
| Virginia | 1,000 & 20,000 | Federal guidelines. | Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – Producer must register with the Department of Agriculture and get a letter from the Department stating producer is participating under the exemption. 20,000 – Producer must register with the Department of Agriculture and get a permit number that goes on product labels. |
| Washington | 1,000 & 20,000 | No open air. | 1,000 – Can sell only on farm to consumers. 20,000 – Can sell to consumers, HRI, retail stores, or wholesale. | License required. |
| West Virginia | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 – Open air allowed. 20,000 – No open air. Facility must be brick and mortar. | Federal guidelines except the producer is not permitted to have more than 3,000 birds on their property at any given time. | No license required. |
| Wisconsin | 1,000 | No open air with one exception: If using an inspected mobile processing unit (there is only one at present), the bleeding portion of the slaughtering can take place outside, but the rest must be done inside the mobile processing unit. | Can sell farm-to-consumer only, and only consumers may purchase. No HRI. | No license required. |
| Wyoming | 1,000 & 20,000 | 1,000 and selling to consumers only – Open air allowed. 1,000 and selling to anyone other than consumers – No open air. | 1,000 – Can sell direct-to-consumer on the farm, at farmers markets and through delivery, and any other venue where direct-to-consumer sales take place. 20,000 – Federal guidelines. | 1,000 – If producer wants to sell to other than consumers, license required. 20,000 – License required. |
March 23, 2017
Copyright © 2010-2017 Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund www.farmtoconsumer.org. The chart is the property of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. This chart may not be reproduced or altered without the express, written permission of FTCLDF, and if permission is granted, all reproductions must cite FTCLDF as the source of the original material. This chart is not intended to be used as or construed as legal advice.
* All “licenses” and “permits” are for the corresponding state except for those specifically stated otherwise. Also, “Department of Agriculture” refers to each state’s Department of Agriculture.
Kentucky: They have not adopted either the 1,000- or 20,000-bird exemption for on-farm slaughter. Instead, they have created their own program through the mobile processing unit. Any poultry processed through this unit can be sold anywhere and to anyone, intrastate only. The mobile processing unit does not come to the farm. For poultry and rabbits it must be tied into a mobile docking station. There are three locations in the state. 1) Frankfurt at Kentucky State, 2) Moorehead at Moorehead College, and 3) Jackson Extension Office. It does not require a state license; however, it does require an extensive one-day training to get approved to use the mobile unit. After completing the training, the producer is given a Facility Management Number post training which goes on all of their packaging and is part of the labeling requirements.
Maryland: “The program MDA [Maryland Department of Agriculture] offers is voluntary for poultry producers operating under either the 1,000 or 20,000 level so that is why we call it a certificate of compliance. Our State Health Department does not consider them an approved source since they are not inspected by FSIS and they can’t sell anywhere but directly to consumers on the farm because of State Health’s interpretation of an approved source. MDA’s program issues a certificate of compliance after label approval and inspection that makes them an approved source and they can sell their product to restaurants, other retailers and farmers markets in Maryland rather than just directly to consumers on the farm. So regardless of the number of poultry 1,000 or 20,000, they only have to participate in the MDA program if they want to sell anywhere but directly to the consumer on the farm.” Deanna Baldwin – MDA
New Jersey: Local health departments have jurisdiction over processing operations under the poultry exemption if the producer sells only direct-to-consumers. If the producer sells wholesale, the State Health Department has jurisdiction.
GLOSSARY
CGMP – Current Good Manufacturing Practices
Consumer – end user of the product
CSA – Community Supported Agriculture
Exemption – exempt from the requirement that an inspector be present when slaughtering and processing is taking place; it does not mean being exempt from any regulation
FSIS – Food Safety Inspection Service; a division of USDA that has jurisdiction over meat and poultry slaughter and processing
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
HRI – hotels, restaurants, and institutions
Institutions – according to USDA, includes schools, hospitals, and nursing homes
FOOTNOTES
1USDA-FSIS Policy Development Staff. On-farm Poultry Slaughter/Processing [Incident: 150730000107]. Response via email July 31, 2015. [PDF]
2USDA-FSIS Policy Development Staff. On-farm Poultry Sales to Institutions [Incident: 160927-000065]. Response via AskFSIS September 28, 2016. [PDF]
If you have any questions or comments on the Poultry Processing Map or Chart, please contact us.